North Korea routinely uses major holidays to showcase its military capabilities and the latest developments in missile technology.

Se-Woong Koo, managing editor of Korea Expose magazine, said Pyongyang was sending a message about its commitment to denuclearisation made during summits with South Korea's President Moon Jae-in, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"North Korea has said it wants to denuclearise by the end of Trump's first term. So given all this optimism, given all the clear signs, it was unlikely that North Korea would jeopardise the process with a display of its missiles," he told Al Jazeera.

The North also refrained from immediately televising the event, though North Korean media were out in force to film it, deploying booms and drones with cameras.

The theme for the celebrations this year was unifying the Korean Peninsula, divided since the 1950-53 Korean War.

Immediately after the parade, thousands of citizens walked through the square, escorting floats displaying economic themes and calls for Korean reunification.

Under the warm sunshine, the marchers waved bouquets and flags and chanted "Long live" to the leader.

Afterwards, Kim and Li saluted the crowd, the North Korean raising his guest's hand in the air.

Beijing is its neighbour's key diplomatic protector and trade partner, and after years of deep freeze over North Korea's missile and nuclear tests, their ties have warmed rapidly this year, with Kim visiting China three times to meet Xi.